It was unclear exactly where the Seattle teenagers were buried under the ice that had collapsed on them in a hollowed-out area near Melakwa Falls.

"Power saws and humans don't go together," Eastside Fire & Rescue Lt. Dean deAlteriis, who was at the site, said Saturday. "That's a no-no in a rescue. A small mistake could be a big mistake."

Saturday, the boys remained at Harborview Medical Center. Corbett, 17, who broke his back in the accident, remained in satisfactory condition, a nursing supervisor said. His 14-year-old friend, Gelmini, was in serious condition, also with a fractured back.

As the boys continued to recover from their injuries, more details came to light that demonstrated how much skill and hard work went into their amazing rescue.

Since Thursday, deAlteriis said his relatives and friends have called and sent text messages to acknowledge his efforts.

"It's a great feeling," he said. "But it wasn't a one-man operation. This was a huge operation."

And key to the rescue were the chain saws, originally brought along to cut down trees to be used for shoring.

Search-and-rescue specialists and firefighters had little choice but to use the power saws for digging instead.

Their axes and shovels failed to move the thick ice slabs, they were fighting time and they didn't know the boys' medical conditions.

With information from one of the boys' mothers, who witnessed them disappear, rescue teams figured out where they were most likely trapped.

Searchers picked a spot in the ice and started up the power saw. With its engine buzzing and chain spinning, one rescuer began with shallow cuts, gingerly slicing through ice slabs, some 5 to 7 feet thick, deAlteriis said.

Searchers knew the boys were not in solid ice chunks. Still, rescuers used the chain saw with care, cutting downward one foot at a time.

Eventually, they found air pockets.

At one point, Eastside firefighter Terry Cushman put his head down and yelled, deAlteriis said.

"He thought he heard something," deAlteriis recalled. "That's when we knew. Up until that point, we were thinking that we wouldn't have a good outcome."

Later, they heard sound from the second boy. Rescuers were invigorated.

As the rescuers cut the ice and got closer to the first boy, the power saw was set aside.

Small axes and other hand tools were pulled out and the chipping began. Hands cleared the loose ice.

Once the first boy was out, he was placed in a rescue basket, which weighed a total of 200 pounds.

The area was slippery because of the ice. It was cold and wet.

So rescuers formed an old-fashioned "bucket brigade."

They stood in line and handed the basket with the boy to the next person until the youth reached stable ground.